Police chief calls author of essay about growing up black in Naperville

Mike Mantucca / Naperville Sun

Naperville Police Chief Bob Marshall said he hopes to meet with former Naperville resident Brian Crooks to discuss his encounters with Naperville police in order to better understand what Crooks experienced as black man growing up in the city.

Naperville Police Chief Bob Marshall said he hopes to meet with former Naperville resident Brian Crooks to discuss his encounters with Naperville police in order to better understand what Crooks experienced as black man growing up in the city. (Mike Mantucca / Naperville Sun)

The Naperville Police chief said he hopes the experiences conveyed in Brian Crooks' essay about growing up black in the largely white suburb will help improve his department.

Chief Robert Marshall called the former Naperville resident after the essay appeared in the Naperville Sun to tell him just that.

"I wanted to hear more about his experience, really learn what it's like to grow up a black person in Naperville," Marshall said. "As soon as he comes to town, we'll go out to coffee. We have to have conversation and dialogue with the minority communities to really understand."

Crooks is a former Naperville resident and Neuqua Valley High graduate whose family moved to Naperville when he was in fifth grade. His parents still live here. His nearly-5,000-word July 9 Facebook post on growing up black in Naperville had been shared more than 28,000 times on Monday afternoon, and many times more via assorted news outlets.

Crooks now lives in West Des Moines, Iowa. He graduated from University of Iowa in 2007 and works as a graphic designer.

Marshall said he and Crooks talked about the author's experiences in Project Snowball, an annual weekend retreat between local students and law enforcement.

But he's saving the in-depth discussion for their coffee appointment.

"It was a very short conversation as I value in-person conversation the most," Marshall said.

Crooks said Tuesday the chief was "very gracious" to call.

"For him to come out and say, 'Look, what happened to you is not OK,' I think that's tremendous," Crooks said. He plans to take the chief up on his offer to talk in person next time he's in town.

That might not be for some time: Crooks proposed to his girlfriend a little more than a week ago, and all his free time now is spent wedding planning.

"It's been a busy week and a half," Crooks said.

Reaction to the essay from city leaders were mixed on Monday, as three council members acknowledged Crooks' painful experiences of racism and discrimination while hoping that Naperville has changed for the better.

"At some times, my heart just broke for him, as it would for any kid that is picked on, singled out or left feeling as an outsider. I was struck by the comments about how few black authority figures he had," Councilwoman Rebecca Boyd-Obarski said. "I am hopeful that Naperville has become more diverse since then, more accepting of differences and more open to learning about differences."

Councilwoman Patty Gustin reflected Boyd-Obarski's hope for the future. She recalled 25 years ago when her sister-in-law, who is black and Latino, declined to move to the western suburbs because she didn't see anyone here who looked like her.

As she read Crooks' essay, Gustin said she remembered growing up part-Lithuanian and part-Polish on the South Side of Chicago and the insults hurled toward those who shared her heritage.

"Were they discriminatory? No. But they were hurtful," Gustin said. She called Crooks' essay "a wonderful, wonderful thing."

Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico said his kids attended Neuqua High at the same time as Crooks, and remembered how few black students were enrolled then. He also recalled meeting Crooks' parents when he was knocking on doors, campaigning for mayor.

"He told me about life in Naperville 15, 20, 25, 30 years ago and the number of times he'd get pulled over driving home late," Chirico said. He hopes the younger Crooks will consider helping Naperville police with sensitivity and other training in interacting with minority groups.

"We're working hard on that, and I think Brian, if he's willing, could really help us," Chirico said.

Crooks said he can offer his anecdotal experiences, but recommended the city look to professionals for long-term advice.

"I'm a graphic designer," Crooks said. "Turning to people who have training in de-escalating violence is the way to go."

Both the mayor and the police chief cited a July 12 Facebook post by a local resident as an example of how the police department is trying to change. The resident detailed his interaction with a Naperville cop who walked into a doughnut shop where he was sitting by himself about 11:30 p.m.

He started packing up his computer, nervous about being confronted, he wrote. Instead, the officer bought the man a caramel iced coffee, sat down and the two talked for an hour and 45 minutes.

"Topics from Arnold Palmer to Alton Sterling," the man wrote. I bombarded him with questions about things, trying to get a deeper understanding on why a cop might do something the way they do, when they do it. In every case I could understand where he's coming from, and he understood where the difficulty lies in a civilian not being able to comprehend an officer's mentality."

"... If people and police had more random communication throughout the day, then maybe things would go smoother. I don't know. I just know that I'm more comfortable walking around now knowing that there are police officers willing to make an effort to get to know me for the betterment of society."